A five-year contract with UK Power Networks valued at £2.5m to upgrade the mechanical locks to combined electromechanical and mechanical lockin, for its high and low voltage distribution networks, has gone to the physical security product manufacturer Abloy UK.
UK Power Networks own and maintain the electricity distribution network across South East England, the East of England and London. The products specified include a mix of Abloy PROTEC2 CLIQ electromechanical and PROTEC2 mechanical padlocks and cylinders, which will be controlled and administered using the new CIPE Manager operating system. The manufacturer estimates it will supply around 9,500 padlocks per year, with programmable PROTEC2 CLIQ Bluetooth Low Energy keys.
The developers of CLIQ say that it offers flexibility that supports the workflow of organisations in the energy sector by enabling audit trails to be generated for individual cylinders, padlocks, keys and system users. If a key is lost or stolen this no longer creates a security risk, because each key can be de-activated if required and have access rights changed or removed using the CLIQ web manager software
The battery powered CLIQ keys are programmable, so a temporary contractor can be issued with a key that permits entry to specific sites for a limited time. After the authorisation period ends, the key cannot open the lock. Pictured is Rob Bennett, Senior Business Development Manager at Abloy UK.
